


No More Lonely

by shewritesall



Series: No More Lonely [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dad!Tony, Irondad, Son!Peter, homeless, ironman - Freeform, parentTonyStark, spiderman - Freeform, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-05-29 00:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15060986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewritesall/pseuds/shewritesall
Summary: When Tony finds a young kid alone on the streets of New York, he can't just do nothing. As it turned out, taking Peter in wasn't the worst thing he could do.Another cute little father-son fanfic of Tony and Peter.





	1. Chapter 1

Tony was exhausted. He'd had seven meetings that day and none of them had gone well at all. All he wanted to do was go fly around New York for an hour or so and just relax. Unfortunately, Pepper had other ideas. She had a list of things Tony needed to finish up, so he had to stay in his office until 5pm when Stark Industries closed. He was out of his chair as soon as the clock struck 5pm and raced into the elevator. He didn't even give Pepper a chance to call him back as JARVIS took him upstairs to his penthouse. He hurried down to his lab and climbed into one of his suits. At 5:03pm, Tony was shooting out of his lab and out across New York. He didn't usually keep an eye out for crime, but he did let JARVIS scam the streets below for anything that looked like it needed more than just the local police. Every now and then, JARVIS would come up with something that was basic enough police could get involved, but interesting enough Tony wanted to. When JARVIS pointed out a small kid getting beat up by an older man, Tony was on the ground in seconds.

"I'm sorry," he said. The man looked up, stopping just before punching the kid again. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Get out of here, Stark," the man sneered. The kid, seeing his opportunity, tried to run off but the man grabbed his arm. "This kid stole from my shop for the third time this week. He needs to learn respect." The man turned back to the kid and kicked his abdomen. The kid fell to the ground with a cry of pain and Tony frowned.

"Alright, that's enough," he said. He grabbed the man and threw him down the sidewalk. He stumbled and tripped over a crack. When Tony raised a repulser at him, he scrambled to his feet and fled. Tony then turned to the kid who was now crying on the ground. He knelt down in front of him and raised his face plate. "Hey, kiddo. Where are your parents?" Tony asked. The kid sniffled and looked up from where he had buried his face in his knees.

"I don't have any," he said. Tony frowned.

"Where'd they go?" he asked. Surely the kid had some kind of parent at some point.

"My mommy was killed by a bad man when we were trying to sleep behind his restaurant," the kid said. When Tony asked about his dad, the kid shrugged. "I don't have one. Mommy said he wasn't a good person and so we had to stay away from him."

"What's your name, kid?" Tony asked. The least he could do was get the kid off the streets. From the sound of it, he had grown up on the streets but he was now alone. New York City was definitely not the safest place for a small kid who's alone on the streets.

"Peter," the kid answered. He held up one hand and showed Tony four fingers. "I'm four." God, the kid was puny. How long has he been without a mom? It was a miracle he was still alive at this point.

"Hi, Peter," Tony said. Peter waved and Tony waved back. "I'm Tony. Can you come stay with me while I find you a safe place to live?" Peter's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"Mommy said not to go with strangers," Peter said. That was an issue. If Peter didn't want to go with Tony, that could cause problems when he tried to take him off the streets anyway.

"You've heard of Iron Man before, right?" Tony asked. Peter nodded and pointed at Tony. Tony smiled and nodded as well. "Yeah, I'm Iron Man. Iron Man is a superhero, right?"

"Yeah! And he saves everyone and stops the bad guys," Peter exclaimed. Obviously the kid was a fan of Iron Man. This was good.

"Yeah, well if I'm a superhero and you know me, then I'm not a stranger, right?" Tony asked. Peter scrunched up his face and stuck out his lower lip like he was thinking about it. "Besides, mommy knew me, right?" Now he was just assuming Peter's mom and been the one to tell him about Iron Man. There was no way Peter could read on his own yet.

"Yeah! She did!" Peter nodded happily. Tony stretched out his hand again and Peter excitedly grabbed it. "Are we gonna fly?"

"Would you like to?" Tony asked. Peter nodded his head enthusiastically and Tony smiled. He picked Peter up then shot into the sky, making sure Peter was safely tucked in his arms and not going to fall. Peter looked down at New York in amazement. Every time he saw something of particular interest (which was often), he pointed it out to Tony. Tony landed softly on the landing pad at Stark Tower and set Peter down. Peter watched with wide eyes as Tony's bits came up and took apart the suit. When they were done, Tony reached down for Peter's hand and walked him inside. Peter held onto Tony's hand with both of his and looked around the penthouse with an open mouth. He let Tony guide him to wherever they were going and was surprised to find himself in an elevator a few seconds later. Tony told JARVIS to take them down to the medical wing and Peter frowned in confusion.

"Mr. Tony?" Peter asked. Tony looked down at him. "What's a medical wing?"

"It's a place where doctors work," Tony said. Peter asked what a doctor was. Tony was only shocked for a moment before remembering the kid had lived on the streets his whole life. Of course he wouldn't know what a doctor is. "A doctor is someone that can fix booboos. If you get hurt, they make it not hurt," Tony explained. It seemed to make sense to Peter though because he let out a long 'Oh' then nodded.

"That's cool," he said. Tony smiled. The elevator doors opened a few seconds later and Tony led Peter into the medical wing. A nurse approached him and didn't even blink at the sight of him with a kid.

"I just want to make sure he doesn't have any internal injuries," Tony told her. She nodded and led them back to an empty room. Someone managed to find Lego blocks and Peter was immediately drawn to those. Tony explained to the nurse that he had found Peter on the streets and someone had been abusing him. "He took a hit to the abdomen and I just wanted to make sure nothing was damaged," he said.

"Alright," she said, finishing writing it down on her clipboard. She then turned to Peter and smiled. "Hey, kiddo. Do you like space ships?" she asked. Peter said he did. In fact, he liked to stand outside the air and space museum with his mom and stare at the statues of space ships. "Awesome! I'm going to go take you to see some. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah!" Peter cheered. He dropped his Lego blocks and grabbed the nurse's hand. She led him down the hall towards all the machines and helped him suit up for his time in the space ship. Tony stood back and watched, listening as Peter talked about the first 'space ship' he had been put in. Once the scans were complete, the nurse led him to another machine and he got to ride in a second space ship.

"How was that?" the nurse asked, leading Tony and Peter back to their room. Peter was bouncing with each step, so Tony had a good idea about how Peter felt about that.

"It was awesome!" Peter exclaimed. The nurse smiled. "Do I get to do it again?"

"No, not for a while," she said. Peter frowned and went back to his Lego blocks, so the nurse turned to Tony. "I'll be back in a few minutes with the results." Tony nodded and she left the room. Peter was busy playing with his blocks, so Tony pulled out his phone and sent Pepper a quick text:  _I might have grabbed a kid off the streets. What kind of legal trouble am I in?_  He turned off his phone after texting her, knowing as soon as she got that message she was going to bury him in messages.

"Mr. Tony?" Peter asked, turning from his blocks to face Tony. "Are you rich?"

"Kind of," Tony answered. "Why?" Peter held up to Lego blocks and grinned.

"I've never gotten to play with Lego blocks before and mommy says that rich people have lots of stuff," Peter grinned. Tony smiled back. The kid thought he was rich because he had Lego's. "I like these. Can I keep them?" He clasped a hand over his mouth then quickly apologised. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tony! That was mean. You can keep them." Tony just laughed at him and smiled.

"No, Peter," he said. "You can keep the Lego blocks. I don't use them anyway." Peter thanked him a dozen times before jumping up to hug him. Tony awkwardly wrapped an arm around him as he bounced and patted his back. Just as Peter pulled away, the nurse came back in with a smile.

"Hello, Peter," she said. Peter smiled at her and Tony wondered if his face hurt yet. "It turns out, no major injuries were sustained. He does have some bruised ribs and a bruised liver so he needs to play carefully," she gave Peter a look and his smile turned into a shy one. "But other than that, he's good to go. You're a lucky kid, Peter."

"I know!" Peter said, bouncing on his toes. "Thank you for letting me ride in your space ships!" he said as he grabbed Tony's hand.

"No problem," the nurse replied. Peter waved wildly at her until the elevator doors closed and he could no longer see her. Suddenly, his smile dropped.

"I forgot my Lego's!" he said.

"Don't worry," Tony assured him. "I'll have someone bring them up for you. Until then, how does grilled cheese for supper sound?"


	2. Chapter 2

Peter said Tony's grilled cheese was the best one he had ever tasted. He then went out to explain how usually he and his mom found food in dumpsters, but it was still good. Some restaurants would even give them leftovers if they waited until they closed. Although Tony's grilled cheese was a little black on one side and not toasted at all on the other side, Peter devoured it. Tony was less satisfied with his meal, but he didn't mind listening to Peter's chattering. Once they were both finished eating, Tony loaded the dishwasher while Peter explored. He had quickly learned about JARVIS and the two had become best friends. While Peter was out of sight, JARVIS kept Tony informed about where Peter was and what he was doing. Tony had just finished washing the frying pan when he heard the elevator doors slide open and Pepper's heels on the floor. Tony quietly cursed and quickly searched for a place to hide. Unfortunately, the kitchen didn't offer very good hiding spots and before he could crawl under the sink, Pepper was staring him down with her hands on her hips.

"You just missed dinner," Tony told her. He pointed to the freshly washed frying pan. "Grilled cheese. Made it myself. Wasn't that good, but the kid liked it." He flinched when he realised he had been the one to bring up Peter and now Pepper had a good lead in for what was about to be a very angry speech.

"Speaking of kid, could you please enlighten me on how you came across one and decided to bring one home?" Pepper asked. Tony gave her a tight smile and glanced out the window.

"Um, JARVIS pointed him out first," Tony said. Pepper didn't look amused that Tony was trying to blame his AI, but she also wasn't surprised.

"If I may, sir," JARVIS interrupted. "You were the one escaping work to fly in the suit." Tony immediately tried to look innocent as Pepper's glare intensified.

"Thanks, buddy," he mumbled. "To be fair, I waited until 5 o'clock."

"Tony! You can't just take a kid off the streets," Pepper said, throwing her hands up exasperatedly. "That's kidnapping!"

"Is it, though?" Tony asked. Pepper looked at him as if to say 'really' and he continued. "I mean, a superhero sees a kid being abused and rescues him. Said kid then reveals that his mother is dead and his father is not in the picture. What was I supposed to do, Pep? Leave him to die? He's four!" Pepper did seem surprised to discover the kid was so young. She didn't have time to reply before Tony sighed and looked behind her. She turned around and saw a very small child in ragged clothes standing behind her. He looked like he was about to cry and Pepper was not going to have that.

"Hey, kiddo," she said softly. She knelt down in front of him, but Peter just stepped back. "I'm Pepper. I'm the person that has to make sure Tony doesn't do stupid things. What's your name?" 

"Peter," he said, barely above a whisper. "Am I a stupid thing? I don't want to stay here if you don't like me." Pepper quickly shook her head and again reached out for Peter, but he stepped back.

"No, Peter," she told him. "You're not a stupid thing. It's just, sometimes when adults take kids off the streets, people get upset. I have to make sure Tony didn't do anything illegal so he doesn't go to jail, okay?" Peter nodded. Pepper stood back up and faced Tony. "I'm going to contact your lawyers and see if they can find anything on him. We need to make sure his dad isn't around, though, or he could press charges."

"Sounds good," Tony said. Pepper glanced back down at Peter who was staring at Tony.

"What's your last name, Peter?" she asked. Peter looked away from Tony and up at Pepper.

"Parker," he answered. She smiled and nodded before walking back into the elevator. She was on the phone with Tony's lawyers before the doors even shut. Once she was gone, it was just Tony and Peter.

"So, that's my girlfriend Pepper," Tony told Peter. He scooped Peter up and walked into the living room with him. "She doesn't like it when I bring home surprises, but she's nice. You'll love her."

"Mr. Tony?" Peter asked.

"Please just call me Tony," he interrupted. Peter nodded and started again.

"Tony?" he asked. Tony hummed, setting Peter down on the couch then turning on the TV. "Is JARVIS an angel?" Tony turned to look at Peter to make sure he was serious. He looked like he was. "He comes from the sky and mommy said angels live in the sky."

"No, Peter," Tony said. "JARVIS is kind of like a computer. I made him and he comes from speakers in the ceiling."

"So he's a robot?" Peter asked, scrunching up his face in confusion. Tony gave a half shrug, half nod.

"Of sorts," he answered. Peter seemed happy enough with this answer, so Tony asked him what he wanted to watch. Of course, Peter had never watched TV before so Tony was left to try and find an appropriate movie for a four year old. He decided on 'Brother Bear' and bought it. Peter watched the movie in silence, captivated by the whole thing. There were parts that were too scary for him, but Tony let him bury his face in his lap until they were over. By the time to movie ended, Peter was getting tired and Tony knew Pepper would be returning soon.

"Tony?" Peter mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Are bears real?" Tony held back a laugh as he gently picked Peter up off the couch.

"Yeah, Pete," he said. "They're real." Peter dropped his head onto Tony's shoulder and yawned.

"Why haven't I seen one then?" Peter asked as Tony carried him down the hall.

"They don't live in big cities," Tony told him. He opened the door to a guest room but kept the light off. "They like the forest." Peter nodded as best he could as Tony laid him down in the big bed. He pulled the blankets up to Peter's chin and Peter snuggled down in them. He was still in the same filthy clothes Tony had found him in, so Tony made a mental note to take him shopping tomorrow. "Good night, Peter," Tony said.

"Good night," Peter whispered, drifting off the sleep. Tony had JARVIS turn on a soft night light then left the room. He kept the door open so Peter could see down the hall towards Tony's room if he needed to. When Tony got back into the living room, he found Pepper waiting for him.

"What'd you find?" he asked. Pepper looked up from her tablet.

"From what they found so far, Peter Parker doesn't exist," she said. "I asked them about what we should do since his mom is dead and his dad is all but confirmed dead and they suggested foster care or an orphanage." Tony frowned at the idea. He didn't know much about either, but from what he did know, he didn't like them. He doubted Peter would last very long in an orphanage, but he didn't like how high the odds Peter would end up in an abusive home were if he was put in foster care. Besides, being moved from place to place at such a young age would be traumatising.

"Are there any other options?" Tony asked. Pepper knew he wouldn't be fond of either idea, so she had asked about a third.

"We try to find his dad," she said. "Run some DNA tests on him, search for anyone with the last name Parker, and see if we can find out more about his mom."

"That last one would be hard," Tony said. He could do the other two downstairs in his lab, but the last thing he wanted to do was ask a kid about his mom's murder. "He probably won't want to talk about it and he likely doesn't remember much."

"I know," Pepper agreed. "That's why tomorrow morning, I'm sending someone down to all the local police stations to ask if they ever dealt with or found a woman that was murdered within the last twelve months. However, we do need to know where it took place and if she was stabbed or shot." Tony sighed, but he knew Pepper was right.

"I don't like it," he said. Pepper shook her head.

"I know," she replied. "But it's the only way to do it if we want to find his dad or someone related to him." Tony nodded then walked into the kitchen to get some water.

"I'll ask him in the morning," he said. Pepper put away her tablet and stood up from the couch.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" she asked. Tony smiled and nodded.

"That will be all, Miss Potts," he answered. She smiled back and walked into the elevator. As soon as she was gone, Tony emptied his water cup and hurried downstairs to his lab. Maybe JARVIS could give him information on Peter's mom.


	3. Chapter 3

When Peter woke up in the morning, he found himself buried in fluffy blankets and lost in a huge bed. He crawled out from under the blankets and looked around the room. It was dark except for the nightlight. Looking out his door revealed that sunlight was already streaming into the Tower.  He sat up in his bed and looked around his room. It was big. Everything Tony had was big. Peter wasn't used to big and lots, but he didn't mind it at all.

"JARVIS?" Peter asked, looking up at the ceiling. "What time is it?"

"It is 7:43am," JARVIS replied. He flipped the panels on the windows so sunlight streamed into his room. He also turned off the nightlight and alerted Tony that Peter had woken up.

"Whoa," Peter said, sliding out of the bed and walked over to the windows. He looked out across New York City with wide eyes. He could see almost every building around. When he looked down, he grinned at how high up he was. No one was taller than him when he was up here. He felt like the king of the world.

"Peter? Are you hungry?" a voice called down the hall. Peter scrambled away from the window and ran down the hall. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was, then spotted the kitchen. He happily climbed up on a stool to watch Pepper cook. Tony sat in the living room working on something on a hologram, but he smiled at Peter when he raced by.

"Miss Pepper?" Peter asked. Pepper hummed, moving the eggs around so they wouldn't burn. "Tony said you're a nice person, so I decided to be your friend." Pepper smile back at him briefly.

"I'm glad," she said. Peter grinned. "I wouldn't want you to hate me if you're going to be sticking around for a while." Peter agreed and squealed in delight when Pepper handed him a plate of eggs. She gave him a fork, warning him that they were still hot, and asked if he wanted orange juice. The answer was an immediate yes.

"Oranges are yummy," Peter said, licking his lips after taking a big sip.

"Yes, they are," Pepper said. She called Tony in to come get some food too then turned off the stove. "I already ate, so I'm going down to start work," she told Tony. He nodded as he took a bite of his eggs. When he started gasping at how hot they were, Pepper just rolled her eyes. She kissed his cheek and left the penthouse, leaving Peter and Tony to themselves.

"So, kid," Tony said, picking up another forkful of eggs. "I was thinking we should get you some more clothes. You might be here for awhile and you could use some more anyway."

"Really?" Peter asked, smiling and dropping some eggs in the process. He picked them off the counter and put them back on his plate.

"Yeah," Tony confirmed. "We'll leave after breakfast."

Once Tony had put their dishes in the dishwasher and grabbed his wallet, he and Peter went down to the garage and got in a car. Tony knew Peter probably needed a car seat, but he didn't have one. Instead, he settled for an Audi with a comfortable backseat and made sure Peter was buckled in. After they were both buckled in, Tony shot out of the garage and headed to the nearest store that would sell clothes. He knew he would need to get Peter something to wear shopping first, so they stopped at the first store Tony saw. He parked the car and helped Peter out. They walked inside and Tony led Peter back to the clothes section. There wasn't much selection, but Tony managed to find jeans and a fun t-short for Peter to wear. He bought them then sent Peter to the bathroom to change. Once he was out of his ragged clothes, they got back in the car and headed to a better store.

"Tony?" Peter asked, sliding off the seat and onto the cement. Tony shut Peter's door and grabbed his hand. "Do the people with cameras know you?"

"Where?" Tony asked, holding Peter's hand tighter as he looked around for the paparazzi. Peter pointed and Tony glanced back. Sure enough, a group of cameramen had gathered outside a local store and were taking photos of them. "Just ignore them, Peter," Tony instructed. Peter nodded and hopped off the curb as they crossed the street. Tony pulled on his hand when Peter jumped onto the opposite sidewalk and he squealed.

"I'm Superman!" Peter cheered. Tony smiled and opened the door to the store, leading him back to the young boys section. Once they got there, Tony began looking for things in Peter's size. Peter ran around, admiring all the clothes and running to Tony with things that weren't in his size. Tony would then help him find the article of clothing in his size and carry it to the cash register. They bought shirts, pants, socks, underwear, and everything else Peter would and wouldn't need. They even managed to find some swim trunks in his size, though Tony wasn't sure if Peter would ever use them. They ended up taking three trips out to the car, passing the paparazzi every time.

"Alright," Tony said, grabbing the last pair of shorts they had found. "I think we're good for now."

"Okay!" Peter smiled. He stuck close to Tony's side as Tony took them to a cash register for the last time. The cashier didn't even bat an eye at him and Peter, simply scanning their items then moving on to charge them. Tony handed a bag to Peter and took the other four. He managed to grab hold of Peter's hand anyway like he did every other time they crossed the street and they returned to the car.

"Are you hungry?" Tony asked, sliding into the driver's seat after putting his bags in the seat beside Peter. The trunk had been filled after their last trip to the car, so Peter was sitting by the last five bags of clothes they had bought.

"Yeah," Peter nodded. Tony started the car and merged back onto the road. A quick glance at the clock revealed the farmers market was still in full swing so he decided to head there. It didn't take long before they were stepping out of the car and walking towards it. Of course, before they managed to disappear into the crowd, a band of paparazzi swarmed them. Peter clung to Tony's hand, but it was a matter of seconds before Tony had picked Peter up and forced his head down. Peter didn't object, quickly burying his face in Tony's neck and wrapping his arms around him tightly.

"Mr. Stark, is this your son?"

"Tony, who are you with?"

"Hey, kid! Who are you?"

Questions were hurled at them and Peter was terrified. Nothing good happened when people swarmed him. He had bruises to show for it. Tony, though, he was Iron Man. He could keep him safe, couldn't he? Peter could only hope that was true as he tried to hide from the bright flashes and aggressive reporters. Tony fought them off as best he could with one arm, but it didn't do much. They only disappeared when an officer and his friend saw them and came to the rescue. Tony thanked them then asked Peter if he was okay. At some point during the attack, Peter had started crying. He wasn't sure when, but by the time Tony pulled back to look at him, his face was very tear streaked and Tony could tell he was obviously shaken.

"Hey, kiddo," Tony said softly, rubbing his back. Peter sniffled and his lower lip trembled. "Are you okay?" Peter nodded, but tears trickled down his cheeks and Tony knew better. "How about we go back home?" Peter nodded again so Tony turned around and walked back to the car. Peter sat in the back, sniffling as they drove back to the Tower. Tony stopped at McDonalds and got a happy meal for him, but Peter didn't touch it. He wasn't hungry anymore.

By the time they got back to the Tower, Peter had mostly recovered from the paparazzi attack. He still stayed quiet, but he wasn't shaking or crying anymore. He helped Tony carry two bags into the Tower. Tony managed to fit all the others on both arms and they stumbled into the Tower together. People in the lobby gave them strange looks, but Peter didn't notice and Tony didn't care. Both of them just wanted to get upstairs and relax. Of course, they had to put all of Peter's new clothes away, but that wasn't terribly stressful. It was mainly just time consuming. Peter even ate his happy meal and helped Tony fold the shirts and pants then put them away. After half an hour, they had finished and Peter was more than happy to take a nap.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony was down in his lab, working on tweaking his Iron Man suit while JARVIS researched recent murders in the area Peter had been found. Tony's music blasted through the lab, but he didn't worry about it waking up Peter. The walls were soundproof and the kid could sleep through anything if he was raised on the streets. When Tony heard his music go down, though, he looked up from his work. Pepper walked into the lab with a folder full of paper and set it by his main work desk. She frowned and looked closer at what JARVIS was searching through.

"I see you just couldn't wait," Pepper said. Tony shrugged and returned to his suit. "The stations wouldn't give us anything, so I'm glad you have JARVIS running it. How are you coming along on those DNA tests? Assuming you wanted to do that as well."

"Haven't yet," Tony told her. He set down his wrench and walked over to his desk. "I keep forgetting. We went shopping this morning, by the way."

"How'd that go?" Pepper asked. From the way she asked, Tony figured she already knew. He gave her a look and she purses her lips. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Tony said, reaching for a rag and cleaning the grease off his hands. "A little shaken up, but unhurt. He's napping right now."

"Good," Pepper said. "He probably needs it." Tony agreed. "Go see if you can swab some DNA real quick and have JARVIS scan that, too. I sent out a PSA for any man with the last name Parker and two have responded. I'm meeting them tomorrow so I would like the results by then." Tony saluted her and set the greasy cloth down.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. Pepper smiled and he kissed her quickly before running upstairs to see if he could find something that could have Peter's DNA in it. He found nothing, though. If he hadn't turned on the dishwasher, he could have found something, but now everything was clean. Sighing, he walked down the hall to Peter's room. Maybe he could find something there. When he walked inside, he was surprised but not upset to see Peter laying awake on his bed. "Hey, Peter! I thought you were going to take a nap," Tony said. Peter shrugged and sat up.

"I can't fall asleep," Peter replied.

"Well, would you like to help me down in the lab?" Tony asked. Getting DNA would be easy if he could get Peter to just spit in a cup or something.

"Yeah!" Peter exclaimed. He jumped out of his bed and followed Tony down to the lab. They passed Pepper on the way down and she smiled at them. Peter grinned back and almost missed a stair. He grabbed the rail and Tony steadied him, then they continued down.

"Alright," Tony said. He grabbed a Petri dish and turned to face Peter. "Can you spit in this for me? We're gonna do a science experiment and JARVIS is gonna help us." Peter nodded excitedly and spit into the dish. Tony grinned and placed the dish into a small box for JARVIS to scan. "Got it, J?" Tony asked, knocking on the glass window.

"Of course, sir," JARVIS replied. Peter grinned and Tony turned him around to face the Iron Man suit. His jaw dropped.

"How would you like to help me fix it up?" Tony asked. Peter nodded so fast Tony was worried he would hurt his neck. He walked over to the suit and grabbed the wrench. He had Peter hold the nuts and bolts he pulled out then hold the wrench. Tony worked on the suit while Peter watched with wide eyes. By the time they had finished and Tony had put all the nuts and bolts back in place, Peter seemed to have forgotten about the science experiment. Tony told JARVIS to let him know if they made any advances then took Peter back upstairs. After suggesting they make dinner for Pepper, Peter and Tony found themselves in the kitchen struggling to make lasagna.

"This is hard!" Peter exclaimed. Tony agreed. They had just cleaned up tomato sauce after spilling it on the floor and Tony was beginning to regret the idea of lasagna. He caught a glance of the blender and grinned.

"How about we make smoothies instead?" he asked. Peter cheered and Tony took that as a yes. He had Peter pull out the fruit from the freezer drawer while he throw out the lasagna stuff. He pulled a stool over to the blender and helped Peter put fruit in then poured in the milk. After making sure the kid was on tight, he turned on the blender. Peter almost fell off his stool at the sudden noise, but then he grinned and helped Tony hold down the lid. They made three smoothies then Tony cleaned the blender. Pepper walked into the penthouse as soon as Tony had turned off the sink.

"We made smoothies!" Peter told her. Pepper smiled and walked with him into the kitchen.

"I see that," she said. Peter grinned wider and reached for one of the cups. Pepper grabbed it for him and took it over to the table so he wouldn't spill it. Tony grabbed the other two and joined them a minute later. While they ate, Peter told Pepper all about their day. He told her about the shopping and the paparazzi. Then he told her about their science experiment and working on the Iron Man suit.

"I don't know why we need spit for the experiment, but I guess I'll find out when it's over," Peter said. He took a big gulp of smoothie then continued. "JARVIS did something with it, too."

"Sounds fun," Pepper smiled. Peter nodded and chugged down the rest of his smoothie. As soon as his lips left his straw, he grabbed his head and squealed.

"My head hurts!" he said.

"Brain freeze," Tony told him. Peter frowned and Tony explained what it was. Peter nodded happily and swung his legs under the table. Once Tony and Pepper were done, they took their glasses to the sink and Tony unloaded the dishwasher. Peter went to play with the Lego blocks Tony had had brought up while Pepper finished up paper work. After putting all the clean dishes away, Tony announced he would be going back down to the lab to check on JARVIS's progress. Pepper just nodded, not really paying attention, and waved as he walked down the stairs. He typed in his code and the door slid open.

"What do we got, JARVIS?" Tony asked, slipping into his computer chair and skidding across the room towards his desk.

"I believe I found the murder of Peter's mother," JARVIS said. He pulled up the report and Tony read through it twice. Jane Doe had been stabbed behind a restaurant only one month ago. Her murder had been reported by a small child and the suspect found and in prisoned. The child that had reported it had gone missing, though, and officials were unable to find him.

"That's awful," Tony muttered. He only glanced at the attached photos, but he didn't like what he saw. The ground was covered in blood and the woman was barely recognisable. Whoever had killed her had obviously held something against her. He was kind of surprised Peter hadn't been killed as well. A four year old at the scene of a crime? He definitely should not have survived. "How are we on the DNA test?" Tony asked, closing down the report and spinning in his chair to look across the room at the Petri dish in his scanner box.

"82% complete," JARVIS said. Tony nodded and stood up.

"Print a copy of the results to Pepper's printer and one to mine when they're done," he said. JARVIS promised he would so Tony got up to leave the lab. "And J? Get me the name of the murderer."

"Of course, sir," JARVIS said. The lights shut off as Tony locked up the lab and went back upstairs. He wanted to know who had killed Peter's mom and why. He also wanted to know if he really should have taken Peter out. Maybe someone had an eye out for him. If that was the case, there was no way Tony was letting Peter out of his sight.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Pepper met with four men that had responded to her PSA. Tony had voiced his concern about his mother's murder to her earlier, so she asked the men for spit samples to run some DNA tests. Of course, in order for them to give her the DNA, she had to explain that a young boy with the last name Parker had been found and they were searching for his father. Two of the men insisted it couldn't be them, they were faithful to their wives. Pepper asked for their DNA anyway and got it. She sent it up to Tony to run in his lab and promised them she would send them the results. They refused to leave, though, so they ended up waiting in the lobby for four hours while JARVIS ran all the tests. In the end, none of them matched up with Peter's and she sent them all home.

"Pep, can you watch Peter?" Tony asked, walking into her office with Peter. She looked up from her computer with a frown. "I have to run somewhere real quick and he doesn't want to be alone." Pepper knew where he was going but said nothing against it. Honestly, if someone was looking for Peter, the last thing she wanted to do was put his photo out for everyone and give them an easy access path to him.

"Sure," Pepper said. She locked her computer and got up from her desk. "I can go work upstairs."  They got in the elevator and went back up to the penthouse. Pepper sat in the living room to work while Peter played with his Lego blocks. Tony got in his Iron Man suit and flew down to the police station JARVIS said the murderer was at. When Iron Man asked to speak with him, he was let back right away.

"Tony Stark," the man said, grinning as he watched Iron Man walk towards him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"James Richie," Iron Man said. He lifted the face plate of his suit. "You remember why you're here, right?"

"Course I do," James replied. He leaned back in his chair, one hand cuffed to the table and restricting him slightly. "Who forgets the person who locked them up?" He smirked as he watched Tony's face darken.

"Why did you kill Miss Parker?" he asked. James's grin widened and Tony knew he had been waiting for that question.

"For fun," he answered. At first, Tony thought he has kidding, but James didn't laugh and change his answer. "Every stab sends this thrill through me that I can't describe. Think of the most thrilling thing in your life and multiply it by twelve. That's how amazing I feel."

"You're sick," Tony spit out. James shrugged. "You murdered a mother for fun. What about her child? Did you think of him?" James's smirk grew and he leaned forward. He looked around like he was about to tell Tony a secret then spoke softly.

"I tried to kill him too," he said. He grinned when Tony froze up. "The younger they are, the more thrilling it is. They're usually the most terrified to die. Besides, watching a parent beg for mercy is even better." Tony had to breath deeply to avoid slamming a metal fist into James's face. "Don't think I don't know you have him, Stark. I want that boy. I would have left him alone once he ran, but he ran to the wrong people."

"He ran to the people that could keep him safe," Tony said. James's smirk fell and he slammed his hands onto the table. A nearby guard dropped a hand to his gun and stared at them. James seemed unfazed.

"He got me arrested," he hissed. His face darkened. "I got away with countless murders; murders people still don't know were by my hand. I was stopped by a four year old with no future." He practically snarled as he leaned within centimetres of Tony's face. "I will get out of here and I will find him and I will watch the life drain from his terrified eyes just like I did with his mother."

"I won't let you," Tony growled. James smiled darkly as he leaned back in his chair.

"You won't even see it coming," he warned.

* * *

Pepper could tell Tony was upset the minute he returned to the Tower. He was radiating anger as he walked inside and into the kitchen. Peter had just went to his room to put his Lego blocks away for lunch so Pepper didn't worry about him hearing what had happened at the prison. When Tony told her what James had said, she could have sworn her heart just stopped. He had only told her as much as James saying her had killed Peter's mom for fun when he had to stop because Peter came running into the room. He was smiling wide until he saw how upset Tony was. He stopped running and stood behind Pepper.

"What's wrong, Tony?" he asked. Tony forced a smile.

"Nothing's wrong, kiddo," he answered. He reached out to tickle Peter who shrieked and tried to back away. He giggled and used Pepper's legs as a barricade. Tony grinned and reached around her. He grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him out from behind Pepper. He giggled and squealed as Tony tickled him.

"Stop!" he squealed. Tony hugged him tightly then let him go. Peter hurried to hide behind Pepper again, a big smile on his face.

"How about we go get lunch?" Tony suggested. Pepper looked like she was about to object, but Tony gave her puppy dog eyes and Peter seemed excited at the idea.

"Fine," she said. Tony and Peter cheered and she rolled her eyes. Peter practically jumped all the way to the to the elevator. He happily pressed the button after Tony pointed which one went to the lobby. Pepper grabbed Peter's hand as they walked out of the Tower and down the street to a local restaurant. They found a place that was less crowded than nearby restaurants and walked in. After they ordered their food, they found a spot to sit and wait. Peter folded his napkin into different shapes while Tony and Pepper talked. Pepper wanted to know more about his meeting with James, but Tony refused. Even when she asked in French, a language they were both fluent in and fairly certain Peter didn't know, he still said no. He didn't want to think about that right now.

"Stark?" a voice called. They looked up to see someone putting their order out for them to grab. Of course, everyone else inside looked around for Stark once the name was called. Tony waved at everyone as he grabbed the food and thanked the worker. The teen stared at him, starstruck, until Tony had sat back down beside Pepper. He handed Pepper and Peter their food then began eating his own.

"Tony? When is our experiment gonna be done?" Peter asked.

"It's already done," Tony answered.

"Really? Can I see it?" Peter asked. Tony told him it was just paper results, but Peter insisted on seeing it anyway.

"You can test your own then use it to compare and show Peter how it works," Pepper suggested. Peter looked at Tony excitedly, not sure what Pepper meant but liking the idea of looking at his experiment.

"Sure," Tony agreed. "Once we finish, we'll test my spot and then compare the results. Sound good?" Peter nodded enthusiastically and began to eat faster. Soon they were all finished and Peter pulled Tony out of the restaurant. He skipped down the sidewalk just barely ahead of Tony and Pepper. He had trouble pushing open the lobby doors, but Tony helped him and he raced into the elevator. They rode it up to the penthouse and Peter led Tony down to the lab. Pepper said she was going to return to work, so Tony kissed her briefly then let Peter drag him downstairs. He grabbed another Peter dish and spit in it. He told JARVIS to run tests on his spit as quick as possible then explained the paper results to him.

"Why are there numbers?" Peter asked. He stood between Tony's knees as Tony sat in his computer chair and leaned forward so they could both see the paper.

"It tells you the size of the alleles," Tony said. Peter made a strange face at the word 'alleles' and Tony explained. "Alleles are like switches. For example, if 2 of 25 lights are on, the room is dark. Just like in alleles, if 2 of 25 alleles are on, then your eyes are gonna be really dark."

"Cool!" Peter said. He asked Tony how many alleles were in his eyes and Tony searched through the paper for the answer. He pointed to it and Peter looked at it. "5!"

"Yep," Tony said. JARVIS spoke up then to say his results were done, so Tony printed his own results and then brought both papers over to Peter. He sat back down and held both papers in front of him. "Now, what's different?" Tony asked. Just as he asked that, he looked down and skimmed through it.

"Here," Peter said, pointing to a 7 on Tony's while his own said 10. He pointed out a few more things, but Tony could barely hear him. He didn't even realise he had interrupted Pete until Peter turned to look at him, slightly upset at being cut off.

"JARVIS, how similar are these tests?" Tony asked. He could feel his hands start to shake as he stared back down at the tests.

"The tests are a 49.98% match," JARVIS said.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a small description of a panic attack. If you don't want to read that, scroll to this symbol # and you'll be clear of it.

Peter didn't know why Tony got up suddenly. The papers fell to the ground as Tony stood up abruptly and walked away from Peter and his desk. He breathed deeply as he paced around the lab, tugging at his hair. His hands were still shaking and he felt his heart rate picking up. He realised just a little too late he was having an anxiety attack. He glanced back at Peter who looked very concerned and immediately felt bad. However, he couldn't calm himself down fast enough before he started felt his chest tightening and breathing became hard.

"JARVIS," he gasped, grabbing his chest. "Get Pepper. Now." He tried to breath evenly, but it didn't work. He could vaguely hear Peter calling his name and tried to focus on it. He looked at Peter, suddenly aware he had dropped to his knees.

"Tony? Are you okay?" Peter asked worriedly. Tony focused on his voice and face.

"Tell me what your favourite colour is," Tony gasped. Peter nodded and told him it was blue. "Why?" Peter explained how sometimes he had a hard time deciding, actually. Sometimes it was red, sometimes it was blue.

"If I'm happy, it's blue!" Peter told him. "But if I'm really, really happy, it's red!" He continues talking about how his mom had blue eyes and how his favourite sweater had been red. By the time Pepper burst into the lab, breathless from running and obviously worried, Tony had managed to distract himself from his panic by listening to Peter talk. He shakily stood up and Pepper put her hands on his face.

#####

"What happened?" she asked. Tony took a deep breath to try and stop shaking, but it did very little.

"The tests," he said, pointing to the papers in Peter's hands. "99.998% match. Pep, we found his dad." Pepper looked back at Peter in shock then back to Tony.

"Am I in trouble?" Peter asked with a small voice. Pepper quickly shook her head and left Tony's arms to pick Peter up.

"No, Peter," she assured him. He looked like he had been about to cry. She gently ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek. "You know what your experiment revealed?" she asked. Peter nodded and pointed to the papers.

"All-ellies!" he said excitedly. Pepper smiled.

"Yes, but it also showed Tony that he was actually your daddy," Pepper said. Peter looked confused, then grinned, then looked like he was going to cry again.

"But he didn't like that," Peter said. He sniffled and Pepper saw tears pool in his eyes. "Does he not want to be my daddy?"

"No, no, of course I do," Tony said, stepping forward to rub Peter's back. "It just surprised me. I wasn't expecting it." Peter sniffled again and wiped his eyes.

"So you don't hate me?" he asked, his voice even smaller. Tony shook his head and took Peter out of Pepper's arms.

"I could never hate you, Peter," he said. He hugged Peter and Peter wrapped his arms around Tony's neck tightly.

"I've never had a daddy," Peter said in his ear. Tony smiled. "What's it like?"

"I guess you get to find out now," Tony said. Peter hugged his neck tighter and Tony kissed his cheek. He reached a hand out for Pepper and she took it. She squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. She told him she was going to go back to work and Tony nodded. He still hadn't processed the fact that he was Peter's dad, but he figured that would take more than a few minutes.

"Can I call you daddy then?" Peter asked, pulling his head back so he could look at Tony. Tony nodded and Peter grinned. Instead of returning to comparing their test results, Tony took Peter upstairs and let Peter play with his Lego blocks while Tony processed what had just happened.

* * *

Later that evening once Peter had gone to bed, Pepper and Tony sat on a couch in the living room and looked out over New York. They had been sitting in silence, both busy thinking about the test results and trying to think up a solution. Tony knew if he revealed that Peter was his son, the kid would never have a moment of peace. He would grow up with cameras in his face and his entire life printed where everyone could see. At the same time, he knew he couldn't just keep him without obtaining guardianship. There was no way that was legal and even if it was, Tony was pretty sure it would be more of a hassle then just stepping forward and adopting him.

"We need to talk to your lawyers," Pepper said softly. Tony nodded. "We can make them swear not to tell anyone. We show them the results and adopt Peter privately. No one has to know."

"I don't know, Pep," Tony sighed. "Something could get out and Peter would never have a private life." Pepper ran her fingers through his hair and Tony leaned into her touch.

"It's the best thing to do," she told him. Tony nodded and laid his head on her shoulder. She wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer. Kissing the top of his head, she closed her eyes and rested her chin on his head.

"Can you get it all settled tomorrow?" Tony asked. Pepper hummed a yes. "I'll have Rhodey watch him. They can meet."

"Sounds good," she replied. They stayed in the living room for a little longer before Pepper suggested they go to bed. It was early still, but they were both exhausted and an early night sounded good. Tony was the first one to actually fall in bed but Pepper was close behind. Tony's words were barely intelligible when he asked JARVIS to block out the light, but JARVIS understood him anyway and flipped the window panels. Once the light was gone, they were both asleep within minutes.


	7. Chapter 7

Peter woke up in the morning to Tony waking him up. He blinked a couple times then gave a sleepy smile. Tony pulled back his covers and gently picked him up. Peter laid his head on Tony's shoulder, still trying to wake up. Tony glanced around the room, making a mental note to have someone renovate it since Peter was going to be a permanent addition to his household now. He figured Peter would rather have a more kid-happy room than one designed for adult guests (mainly Rhodey). It could wait until the weekend, though, so Tony didn't mention anything about it to Pepper. She was already pretty stressed out and he could probably make the call himself.

"Did you sleep good?" Tony asked Peter. He gave an awkward nod and tightened his arms around Tony's neck. Tony walked into the living room with him and Rhodey looked up. Peter lifted his head from Tony's shoulder and looked at Rhodey.

"You must be Peter," Rhodey said. Peter nodded. "I'm Rhodey, but you can call me Uncle Rhodey."

"I'm Peter and I'm four," Peter said, holding up four fingers. Rhodey smiled.

"I'm gonna stay with you today while daddy and Pepper go talk to some fancy people," Rhodey said. "Sound good?" Peter nodded and Tony set him on the couch. He was still in his Iron Man pyjamas and struggling to wake up, but he waved goodbye to Tony and Pepper.

"Uncle Rhodey?" Peter asked once the elevator doors had closed. "I'm hungry." Rhodey nodded and stood up. He held out a hand and Peter scooted off the couch. He grabbed Rhodey's hand and walked with him to the kitchen.

"Ever had pancakes, Peter?" Rhodey asked, lifting him into a stool. Peter shook his head. "Do you like chocolate chips?" Peter shrugged. "We'll try both today." Peter nodded and watched Rhodey make chocolate chip pancakes. By the time Rhodey slid a plate of chocolate chip pancakes across the counter to Peter, Peter was fully awake and bubbling with things to say.

"I have Lego blocks and I can build a castle with them," Peter said.

"Really?" Rhodey asked, sounding impressed.

"Want to see?" Peter asked. Rhodey said he would, but after breakfast. Peter nodded and happily ate his chocolate chip pancake. When he was done, he ran to his room and lugged the box of Lego blocks into the kitchen. He quickly built a castle for Rhodey then proudly showed it to him.

"Amazing," Rhodey said, clapping. Peter grinned and took it apart. "What? Why did you take it apart?"

"It won't fit inside," Peter said as if it were obvious. Rhodey laughed then walked towards the sink to wash their plates. When he had finished, he found Peter making another castle, but this one was obviously going to be bigger.

Rhodey sat in the living room and opened his laptop. While Peter played, he worked. Around noon, Rhodey got a text from Tony saying they had finished and were coming home. Rhodey grinned and looked down at Peter. He was still playing with Lego blocks even after four hours. He didn't even seem like he was getting bored. To be fair, though, Rhodey figures he would have played with Lego blocks all day when he was a kid if he'd had them.

"Hey, Peter?" Rhodey asked. Peter's head snapped up and he stopped in the middle of putting another block on his fifth castle. "How about we make a real big castle to show daddy when he comes back?"

"Is he coming back soon?" Peter asked. Rhodey nodded and Peter's eyes widened. He looked at his castle that was only partway finished. "We don't have enough time."

"Of course we do," Rhodey said. He joined Peter on the floor and helped him make his currently castle bigger. They were finishing the last turret when the elevator dinged.

"Don't come in!" Peter yelled, jumping up and running to stop Tony and Pepper from going into the living room. They frowned and looked around for danger.

"What's going on?" Tony asked. He picked Peter up and Peter promptly covered Tony's eyes with his hands.

"We made you a surprise," Peter told him. "You can't look until it's done."

"It's done, Peter," Rhodey said. Peter removed his hands and Tony walked into the living room. He grinned when he saw the Lego castle then looked at Peter.

"Did you make that all by yourself?" Tony asked. Peter nodded, his smile becoming shy. "Well, I guess I don't need to worry about the next greatest builder. It's obviously you." Peter squirmed and Tony set him down. He began telling Tony all about the castle, showing where the different rooms and everything were. By the time he had finished explaining, Rhodey and Pepper had finished lunch and they were ready to eat.

"I love spaghetti!" Peter exclaimed. Pepper smiled and set his plate at the table. As soon as she gave him a fork, he began eating. The three adults dished up their own plates then joined Peter at the table.

"Did everything go smoothly?" Rhodey asked. Tony nodded but Pepper's facial expression said otherwise.

"For the most part," she said. "We had trouble signing the adoption forms because they didn't believe Tony was mature enough or capable of taking care of a child, so we faked an engagement and they let us both sign on."

"Oh, so you two are getting married now?" Rhodey asked with a smirk. Pepper gave him a look.

"Yes," Tony said at the same time Pepper said no. He turned to look at her in mock offence. "Do you not like me? I thought we had something here, but clearly not. You're just using me, that's what this is."

"Tony, just eat your spaghetti," Pepper said, pointing to his plate with her fork. He stared at her innocently as he scooped a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth. "You know why we can't get married."

"No, actually," Tony said. "I don't." Pepper sighed and shook her head. "My offer still stands. Let me know when you're ready cause I'll always be ready."

"Ew," Rhodey said. He made a disgusted face and Peter laughed, spewing spaghetti everywhere. Pepper scolded Rhodey who quickly found a wash cloth to clean up the mess. Peter just sat there, looking guilty but also still giggling so Pepper didn't feel too bad.

"Uncle Rhodey's funny," Peter giggled. Pepper nodded, shooting Rhodey a small glare. He just chuckled.

"Thanks, kid," Rhodey said. Peter shot him a toothy smile then went back to eating his spaghetti.  When Rhodey returned, the subject changed and Peter told them about how he made six castle that day and how all of them had been from different countries. When asked which countries, he just shrugged.

"I don't know any countries," he replied. Pepper laughed and shook her head.

"That's okay," she said. "You can make them up." Peter visibly brightened at that idea.

"Really? You can make up countries?" he asked, looking at Pepper then Tony. Tony shrugged.

"Of course," he replied. Peter tapped his chin then raised his hand.

"I know where they were from now!" he exclaimed. He listed them off on each finger. "Pashie, Tricker, Lago-like Lego but different. Then there was one from Emper, Sheria, and the biggest one of all was from Bavody!"

"Wow," Pepper said. "Maybe one day I'll visit those places and see all the castles." Peter giggled and shook his head.

"You can't," he told her. When asked why, he said, "Because they don't really exist!"

"Well, maybe I'll visit them in my imagination," Pepper said. Peter thought about it then shrugged.

"I guess," he replied. "But I'd rather go to a real country."


	8. Chapter 8

A week had passed since Tony and Pepper had officially adopted Peter. His room had been completely changed and was now painted blue and red. He had an Iron Man bed spread and an Iron Man lamp. Tony had also gotten him other toys, but Peter liked the Lego blocks best. That didn't mean he didn't play with the other toys, though. His room was now covered in toys that were rarely put away unless Pepper or Tony told him to pick them up. Today was one of those days, so Peter was picking up all his toys and dumping them into the toy chest that was pushed up against a wall. He had to make several trips since he could only carry a few toys at a time, but once he was done, he went racing out of his room and into the living room where Tony was waiting. Tony stopped his stop watch and gave Peter a sad look. Peter's face dropped.

"Sorry, Peter," Tony said. "That took exactly two minutes and seven seconds!" Tony cheered and Peter's face lit up again. The deal had been if he could pick up all his toys in five minutes, they would go to McDonalds to eat.

"Can we go now?" Peter asked. Tony nodded. Peter put on his shoes and Tony grabbed his wallet. They took the elevator down to the garage and got in one of Tony's cars. Tony had finally gotten Peter a booster seat so now Peter could easily look outside the car at all the passing buildings. He was now either very quiet as he watched the buildings pass or very talkative as he told Tony about every building they passed.

"Alright," Tony announced, pulling into the parking lot. "We're here!" Peter cheered and unfastened his seatbelt. Tony opened his door for him and Peter jumped out. Tony followed him inside and they stood in line. When it was finally their turn, the cashier was barely able to speak as he stared at Tony.

"Daddy? Can I go play?" Peter asked. Tony told him to wait as he paid for their food. He took grabbed his cup and got some soda, then let Peter run towards the play area. Tony saw another mom sitting at a table, but the tray she had was full of garbage. It looked like she was about ready to go, too. She looked up when she heard Peter and Tony walk in and gave Tony a smile.

"Never thought I'd see the great Tony Stark take a kid to McDonalds," she said, setting down her phone. Tony shrugged and sat at a table nearby.

"Well, sometimes I get bored and need a reason to come to a place like this," Tony told her. She laughed and shook her head. She picked up her tray and dumped the trash.

"Does he want friends to play with?" she asked, pointing at the play place. "My two sons are up there and I was getting ready to go, but if he wants playmates we can wait."

"Sure," Tony said. "Once we get our food I'll call him down."

"Okay," the woman said. It wasn't much longer before Tony glanced back and saw their meal waiting. He went out to grab it and when he returned, he saw the woman helping her two sons put their shoes on.

"Peter! Food's here," Tony called. He heard Peter run through the jungle gym then slide down the slide. He ran over to Tony and climbed up on a chair. Tony handed him his happy meal as Peter excitedly told him about his two new friends.

"They said they didn't know who Iron Man was, though," Peter said. He pulled out his fries and shoved some in his mouth. "But I told them he was a superhero and they thought it was cool." Tony nodded, glancing up at the TV behind Peter. It wasn't loud enough he could hear, but the subtitles were on and the heading was enough. James Richie had escaped from prison and last spotted heading towards down town Manhattan.

"Peter, we're gonna have to eat this at home," Tony said, helping Peter pack his happy meal back in its box. Peter looked disappointed but nodded. Tony sent him to put his shoes back on while he grabbed their food. Once Peter was ready to go, Tony grabbed his hand and they walked out to the car. He strapped Peter into his car seat and sped out of the McDonalds parking lot.

"Why did we have to leave?" Peter asked.

"Daddy has to go be Iron Man," Tony said. Peter grinned and nodded, but Tony didn't think it was that great. He called Pepper, telling her to shut down the Tower and get everyone that didn't work there out in the next five minutes. When she demanded to know why, Tony quickly muttered that James Richie had escaped and was headed for them. Of course, she hung up immediately and Tony assumed she was working on getting everyone out (probably even the people that worked there).

Tony barely made it into the garage before JARVIS locked down the Tower. He grabbed their food and followed Peter into the elevator. They went upstairs and Tony dropped Peter's happy meal on the table, telling him he could eat now. Peter happily obliged and waved at Pepper with a mouthful of French fries. She smiled back tightly and turned to Tony, asking for more information on what was going on. Tony explained how they had been eating at McDonalds when the news announced James Richie had escaped and was headed to downtown Manhattan.

"How do you know he's coming here?" Pepper asked. Tony just looked at Peter. Pepper sighed. "You're going out, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," Tony said. "Stay here with Peter. I'll be back once someone has caught him." Pepper nodded and watched as he walked outside and the boys began putting his suit on. He was in the air seconds later and had JARVIS keeping him updated on anything related to James Richie.

"Someone says they spotted him Third and Cedar," JARVIS said. Tony frowned, but shot off in that direction. That was nowhere near the Tower. He must have been wrong in his assumption that James would go after Peter.

"Update me on any reports," Tony said, scanning the streets below him. He couldn't see anyone that looked like they were running from prison.

"No more have come in," JARVIS said. Tony nodded and dropped down onto the sidewalk. People looked at him in confusion, but he was busy scanning facial recognition on every passerby.

"Are you sure the report was from here?" Tony asked. He wasn't getting any results. "Have the police found him?"

"There is a squadron of police surrounding the Tower, sir," JARVIS told him after a couple seconds. Tony frowned and shot off into the air. "They received a distress call when the front doors were broken." Tony cursed and flew even faster back to the Tower. The report he had gotten was false. It had been a distraction and now Peter and Pepper were locked in the Tower with a man that killed for fun.

"Are Peter and Pepper still alone?" Tony asked. He was two minutes from the Tower, but if they weren't alone that might not be close enough.

"No," JARVIS said. "Mr. Richie is with them as well as three of your employees." No wonder James had gotten inside fairly easily. His employees could get in the Tower during a lock down. He would be fixing that once this whole thing was over.

"Send me through to the cops," Tony said. JARVIS sent a call through and Tony was connected to the sheriff outside his Tower. "Tell me what's happening. I'm a minute out."

"He's inside, Mr. Stark," the sheriff said. He looked up but couldn't see Iron Man anywhere. "We have him on a ransom call, but things aren't looking good."

"Just get ready to arrest this man again," Tony growled. He hung up and landed outside the Tower. He could see James inside and decided not to let his bots take off his suit. He walked inside and JARVIS pulled up the names of the three men with James. They would be fired, to say the least.

"So glad you could join us, Tony," James exclaimed. He spun a knife on the coffee table then tossed it up and caught it. "I was wondering how long I would have to wait. It's kind of hard to restrain myself."

"You know, group therapy can help with lots of bad habits," Tony said. He was scanning Pepper and Peter for any signs of injury, but JARVIS reported none. "Pep made me go for alcohol. Remember that, Pep? Really very helpful."

"You really do crack jokes at bad times," James said. He chuckled and threw his knife up again. "I thought it was just a rumour."

"Rarely anything you hear about me is," Tony said. JARVIS was calculating the best attack plans but hadn't come up with one with a high enough success rate that Tony wanted to try it.

"I hear Peter here is your son," James said, using his knife to point at Peter. Peter was trembling as he curled up close to Pepper. It was obvious he recognised James from his mother's murder. Tony didn't respond and James grinned. "He is! Oh, things just got so much better."

"Ok," Tony said. JARVIS had a plan with a 97% success rate and Tony was tired of waiting. "I'm tired. Lead the way, J."


	9. Chapter 9

JARVIS's plan apparently didn't involve killing people much to Tony's irritation. Instead, he watched himself shoot James's knife out of his hand and if he hit James's hand in the process, well, oops. The other three men tried to run as soon as Iron Man started attacking, but they were shot down as well. A tranquillising dart hit each of them then landed in James's shoulder. James glanced at it and glared at Tony. Before he passed out entirely, he pulled another knife from his wrist and threw it towards Pepper and Peter. Tony couldn't grab it in time and the knife embedded itself in Pepper's shoulder as she twisted to block Peter. Tony watch James black out before rushing to Pepper's side.

"I'm okay," she gasped. Tony rolled his eyes and popped his face plate up.

"JARVIS, let the cops up now," Tony said. He helped Pepper stand then grabbed Peter off the floor. He was crying and shaking. "Hey, buddy. You're okay now."

"He killed mommy," Peter said, pointing to James. Tony nodded and shot James with another tranquilliser dart just to be safe.

"He's going bye-bye now," Tony promised. Peter nodded and jumped when cops poured out of the elevator. JARVIS had taken the Tower off lockdown once Tony had called for the cops, so they had easy access to the penthouse. Tony watched them cuff all four men and one came over to check on Pepper and Peter.

"We're fine, thanks," Pepper said. The cop nodded and suggested she go to a hospital for her shoulder. Pepper thanked the cop again and she left. "Speaking of which, I'm a little lightheaded," Pepper told Tony.

"Right," Tony set Peter on the ground and told JARVIS to get Rhodey. "I've gotta take Pepper to the doctor's office, so you're staying here with Uncle Rhodey."

"I want to stay with you," Peter said, sniffling. Tony sighed.

"Fine," he said. He had JARVIS cancel the call to Rhodey and they went to the garage. Tony took off his suit and drove as fast as possible to a nearby hospital. Pepper was admitted immediately and Tony and Peter stayed in the waiting room. Peter was curled up on Tony's lap and Tony had his arms around Peter. They waited a couple hours before a doctor called them back to see Pepper.

"The knife didn't tear through anything bad enough for surgery," the doctor said. "We stitched up her shoulder and wrapped it. It will be tender for a while so we gave her some pain meds."

"Sounds fun," Tony said as they walked into Pepper's room. She rolled her eyes and rubbed her shoulder.

"Not exactly what I would say," she said. Tony smiled and kissed her quickly. He set Peter on the edge of her bed and told him to be careful with her shoulder. "I'm injured, not porcelain," Pepper retorted.

"You're also not invincible," Tony reminded her. She shook her head and opened her arms for Peter to hug her.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said. Peter hugged her tightly and Pepper refused to admit it hurt just a bit. Tony left them in the room while he signed all the paper work and grabbed her pain killers. When he returned, he picked Peter up off the bed and grabbed Pepper's hand. They walked back out of the hospital and were surrounded by reporters. Without any hands, Tony was unable to force them back. It was a slow process the exit the hospital and get back to the car, but they made it eventually and everyone relaxed in the car.

"We're gonna need to do a press conference," Pepper muttered. Tony groaned as he backed out of the parking lot and headed back to the Tower. "We knew it would occur eventually."

"I don't like those," Tony said.

"I know," Pepper replied. The rest of the drive to the Tower was in silence. When they returned to the garage five minutes later, Tony carried Peter upstairs. He had fallen asleep on their short car ride, so Tony took him to his room to nap then walked back into the living room. It hadn't been destroyed at all when James attacked. Tony was glad, too. He didn't want to have to deal with a mess. Pepper was already on the phone and getting a press conference set up. When she was done, Tony made her lay down. She insisted she was fine, but she was fast asleep fifteen minutes later. Once she was asleep, Tony went down to his lab to change some of JARVIS's protocols. He also called the cops about James Richie.

"He's being transported to another facility in upstate New York," the sheriff promised. That wasn't good enough for Tony.

"I want him out of the state," Tony said.

"I'm afraid that's not really possible," the sheriff said. Tony sighed then yelled at Dummy for scratching his Iron Man suit.

"That man tried to kill my kid twice and kills people for fun," Tony said. "He's responsible for unsolved murders, told me himself. I want him gone."

"Unless you can provide evidence for that, we can't just charge him for other murders," the sheriff said.

"I'll send you the footage," Tony said. He told JARVIS to send the sheriff the footage from his talk with James. "Get him out of here, sheriff." Tony hung up before the sheriff could reply. He laid back in his chair and groaned, running a hand through his hair. Just as he closed his eyes, JARVIS announced he had an incoming call from Fury. There was no way this was going to be short and happy.

* * *

Three days later, Tony stood in front of various reporters. Pepper had her arm in a sling as she stood near the back with Natasha. Fury had sent her in to make sure she got information from Tony himself instead of other news sources on what had happened. Natasha was more than willing to go. She hadn't seen Pepper in a long time and the chances of her meeting a small child were high enough she was kind of excited to go. She loved kids, but no one other than Clint and his family, Fury, and Coulson knew this. Anyone else that asked received a snappy reply and (if they weren't lucky) a warning shot.

"Where's the kid?" Natasha asked Pepper as they walked into the room the conference would take place.

"He's with Rhodey," Pepper answered. Natasha was disappointed but refused to show it. She leaned against the back wall with Pepper while Tony answered questions. Most were about what had happened with James Richie, but then they switched to questions about Peter. Tony tried to answer them as vaguely as possible, but when someone asked if Peter was his son, he was stuck.  He looked at Pepper and she just nodded. Might as well get it over with now.

"Yes, Peter is my four year old son," Tony said. Reporters threw even more questions at him, but he ignored them. "However, you will leave him alone and if I see or hear about an article written about him that invades his life, I will send an entire team of superheroes out to grind your ass into the ground."

"You expect us to not report on your son ever?" a reporter asked.

"Yeah," Tony said. "And if that's a problem, I can end your career now. If you want to keep it, just don't write about my kid."


	10. Chapter 10

After the conference, Natasha got to meet Peter. Pepper invited her up for lunch and she was in no mood to return to SHIELD, so she accepted. Peter seemed happy to meet her, but that was mostly because it meant he could show a new person his Lego block castle. Rhodey hadn't helped him this time, so Peter was able to proudly say it was all done by him, including lugging the box out into the living room. When Tony asked him to take it back to his room, Peter insisted that Natasha come look at his new room as well. She wasn't terribly surprised to see it was Iron Man themed. Peter seemed to adore his dad, but she also wouldn't put it above Tony to design the room that way anyway.

"And I picked this out all by myself!" Peter said, pointing to the Iron Man lamp on his nightstand. Natasha smiled.

"That's pretty cool, Peter," she said. He nodded excitedly then led Natasha back out to the kitchen. Rhodey has made lasagna while Pepper and Tony were at the conference, so it was just now ready to eat. They all sat down at the table and Peter told everyone about his morning and how he had helped make the lasagna.

Natasha offered to clean up when they were finished and Peter said he would help her. She pulled up a stool so he could reach the sink and let him rinse the dishes while she scrubbed them. Pepper had to go back downstairs to finish up her work for the day and Rhodey had a meeting to go to. Tony was about to go work down in the lab when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID to see the sheriff. Frowning, he walks down to the lab anyway so he could have a more private conversation.

"We got that footage you sent the other day," the sheriff said. "We asked Richie about it and he admitted to seven unsolved murders as if we were asking him about cake."

"Yeah," Tony said. He scanned his hand and walked into the lab. "Those darts weren't just infused with something to knock him out. You'll get the truth to any question you ask for 48 hours after someone's shot with them." The sheriff didn't comment on that.

"He's been sentenced to death row," he told Tony. "We're moving him to Jersey tomorrow and he'll wait there until they take him elsewhere."

"Thanks," Tony said.

"No problem, Stark," the sheriff replied. They hung up and Tony went to work on upgrading his suit. Even though James was gone now, he could still be better prepared for next time. Besides, he didn't know what his next mission would be.

* * *

Later that evening, Tony told Pepper what the sheriff had told him. She was obviously uncomfortable that they were the reason a man was put on death row, but at the same time, she was glad she wouldn't have to worry about him attacking them again. Peter seemed to have already forgotten about the incident which was good. Neither Tony nor Pepper wanted him to have nightmares from the ordeal or have him remember it for the rest of his life. They were pretty sure his time on the streets were awful enough as they were.

"You know, I'm glad you told those reporters they need to leave Peter alone, but now I'm gonna have to take care of the backlash," Pepper said. Tony shrugged and kissed her forehead.

"Nah, you should be fine," he replied. She gave him a doubtful look. "They can't report on Peter, remember? I don't think any of them will want to risk ruining their career for one report or the Avengers coming after them."

"I guess," Pepper agreed. The lights of New York blinked at her from outside the window. "If there's any, though, let me deal with it. We don't want you on death row for killing someone because they wrote an article."

"It would send a message to others," Tony told her. She smiled and shook her head.

"Not once they arrest you," she said. He shrugged and looked back out the window. From so high above New York (and thanks to sound proof walls), they couldn't hear the horns from below. All they could hear was the soft classical music Pepper had asked JARVIS to play. New York was still bustling and they could tell based on all the car lights they could see on the highway, but it was peaceful to watch from above. No one else was higher than them at this point during the day; most other skyscrapers had been closed and locked for the night. Only Stark Tower was occupied and even then it was only the top floor. Peter was asleep and had been for an hour or two, so Pepper and Tony were alone in the living room.

When Tony asked, JARVIS turned off the house lights and the lights of New York seemed to shine brighter. Tony glanced at Pepper who was curled up against him as much as her healing shoulder allowed and not for the first time was he glad Afghanistan had happened. If it hadn't, he wouldn't be here. With that thought, Tony smiled and kissed the top of Pepper's head. She hummed and his smile grew. Happiness was short lived, but that's what made it enjoyable.


	11. Author's Note

Hello, everyone!  I hope you enjoyed this story with little baby Peter in it.  If you did, you'll be excited to learn I wrote a sequel to this book and it's just been published.  The title is 'Let's Begin' and can be found on my account.  It does deal with kidnapping and is a little harsher than this book, but it's not graphic or rated high.  Go check it out and let me know what you think!  Thanks for reading!


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